


Incompatible

by MikeWritesThings



Series: Bubblysparks Soulmate AU [2]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Background Relationships, Canon Autistic Character, Day At The Beach, Developing Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26860111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikeWritesThings/pseuds/MikeWritesThings
Summary: Everyone else is enjoying themselves at the beach except for Natalie, who is still reeling from finding out who her soulmate is.
Relationships: Rampart | Ramya Parekh/Wattson | Natalie Paquette
Series: Bubblysparks Soulmate AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959463
Comments: 5
Kudos: 34





	Incompatible

**Author's Note:**

> day 3 of rarepair week, part 2 of bubblysparks....beach day!!!

Natalie adjusted her sun hat, trying to block the bright rays from shining directly in her eyes. She heard a distant whoop of ‘ _cannonball_!’ followed by a shout of ‘ _SILVA_!’ When she looked over, she saw that Octavio had leapt from the very cliff he’d been told _not_ to jump from, and now he was pulled onto Makoa’s surfboard, missing one leg.

“It should float back up,” the man was saying. “I wore the waterproof ones today.”

The leg never appeared, and Octavio had to be taken back to shore where he sat, arms crossed and pouting.

Natalie approached him, stepping carefully onto the towels and blankets laid over the sand, as she hated the feeling of it beneath her feet, before crouching next to him with a smile.

“Would you like to build a sandcastle?” She asked kindly.

“No way, José,” he complained. “I wanted to _dive_.”

Natalie frowned down at his swimming vest. “But...would this not make you float?”

“Yeah,” Octavio said. “I can’t swim.”

Natalie was very confused, but she was used to feeling that way around him. She sat back on her haunches and looked at everyone else enjoying themselves.

Elliott was sunbathing on a yellow towel, arms folded behind his head and hair wrapped up to protect it from the sun's harsh rays. Crypto was reading a book beneath the shade of an umbrella, the hood of his sleeveless hoodie drawn up as he fiddled with his puzzle cube in his free hand.

Ajay, Anita, Wraith, and Pathfinder were all tossing a ball around in the water while Loba floated on her back, somehow managing to stay above the waves without seeming bothered. This place wasn’t very good for surfing, but Makoa seemed content all the same to swim out into the sea on his board, little more than a speck in the distance.

She twisted her head around, looking for the remaining few Legends, but suddenly Octavio started crawling away from her, heading in Elliott and Crypto’s direction.

“Where are you going?” She asked, curious.

“I’m gonna convince Crypto to let me bury him in the sand. Later, chica.”

Realizing that she had been left alone, Natalie looked over at the others again and considered joining in their game—Wraith looked like she was having fun for once, and she wanted to be a part of that experience!

But then a pile of clothes landed beside her, causing her to startle, and she heard a familiar voice drawl,

“Alright, mates, the _real_ star of today’s beach episode is here.”

Sighing, Natalie glanced behind her to see Ramya approaching, ponytail fluttering in the wind. She was somewhat surprised to see what she still had her nose and bellybutton piercings in—wouldn’t those get irritated in the water?—but she chose not to voice this out loud.

The girl made a beeline for the water, but she came to a full halt when she was submerged up to her calves, before turning around and looking directly at Natalie.

“C’mon, Miss Paquette,” Ramya said, and she wasn’t so sure as to why she kept calling her that when she had a crude nickname for everyone else. “Fancy a swim?”

Natalie scowled, rubbing at her inner wrist as she watched Ramya cackle before purposefully kicking water in Elliott’s direction, earning a shriek. Those words seemed especially mocking right now, as she was sure that Ramya had figured out that that was what was written on her skin.

Natalie had wanted to join in their game before, but as soon as she realized that Ramya was too, she resigned herself to sitting alone on the beach. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she watched the others have fun, and felt rather left out—which was ridiculous, she knew, because she had chosen to be by herself. But still...

Loba soon got out of the water, wrapping a towel around herself and winking at Natalie on her way to the beach house; a reward they'd been given been given for reaching the end of yet another Apex season.

Anita soon followed after her, saying that she had important things to do, and she watched Ajay and Ramya exchange knowing smirks at these words. She didn’t really get why, though.

“Oi, Nat,” Ajay called, and she waved her hand in response. “Come and join us, now. Have some fun!”

“We’re at a bit of a disadvantage with these two,” Ramya said, pointing at Pathfinder and Wraith. “Cheaters, is what they are.”

“I am simply tall!” Pathfinder said cheerfully.

“Doesn’t change the fact that Wraith somehow always knows where the ball’s going to go!”

The older woman didn’t even say anything—just smiled.

Natalie sighed, considering her options for a moment. Crypto was still reading his book, though he was now lying flat on his back as Octavio covered his legs in sand. Elliott was still sunbathing but he was now laying on his stomach, and...

A shadow loomed over her, and when Natalie looked up, she saw Dr. Caustic approaching the group with several vials in hand. Natalie stood up quickly and backed away from him, and without even looking at her, he gruffed, “I’m taking water samples.”

Wanting to get as far away from him as possible, she glanced between the beach house and the water nervously, before turning on her heel and heading up the sandy slope.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go inside, if I were you!” Ajay called, and Natalie gave a frustrated huff, whirling around.

“Why not?”

“Just trust me.”

Natalie bit on her tongue, considering all of her other options—even the ones she didn't particularly care for—before letting out a sigh of defeat and marching herself over to the water, still making sure to not step on the hot sand directly. Ramya let out a whoop as she waded in, and Wraith greeted her with a smile.

“Alright, ladies,” Ramya said, holding the ball up high. Aside from Pathfinder, she was the tallest person playing. “Let’s give ‘em a game to remember.”

Natalie frowned, feeling like this was a dig at their opponents’ personal issues—but then Ramya tossed the ball up and hit it towards Wraith, who had backed up before it had even gone into the air. She returned it swiftly, and it barreled right between Natalie and Ajay.

The only reason Natalie did not immediately try to intercept it was because she wasn’t so sure about the rules of the game—was she supposed to keep hitting it, or could she catch the ball and then pass it like Ramya had?—and decided that she would observe the others playing before trying to do much.

The ball went back and forth between their two teams, and by the time Pathfinder had bopped it towards her, she felt confident enough to reach high into the air and try to it hit back—but Ramya leaned over, effortless due to her height, and smacked it out of the way.

Natalie looked over at her, slightly offended that she had not been given the chance to get the ball, but Ramya simply winked and clicked her tongue at her, the sun glinting off of her nose ring.

This happened twice more—if the ball came in her direction and Ramya was near enough, she would reach over and intercept it before Natalie could even raise her arms, and soon enough she was frustrated.

The wind blew towards them and nearly swept her sun hat away, but Ramya reached over and caught it, pressing it down on her head to keep it steady with a “Whoops, don’t need to pollute the sea more than we already have.”

“Do not touch me,” Natalie snapped at her, and then immediately felt bad for being rude when the other girl threw her hands up in defense.

They continued their game, and Wraith sent the ball soaring over her head. She tried to jump and catch it, but it splashed into the water behind her, and some of it got into her eyes.

Feeling close to crying because of the burning sensation, Natalie waded out of the water, trying to resist the urge to rub furiously at her face to get it to stop. Because she couldn’t quite see where she was going, she ended up stepping directly onto the hot sand, and let out a frustrated sob as she felt it between her toes—rough and burning and _unpleasant_. 

She heard the others calling after her, but she needed some time alone, needed a moment to cool off—so she stepped carefully onto the towels again as she made her way up to the beach house, hoping that nobody would follow after her.

She heard the shower running, so she did her best to flush the sea water out of her eyes using the sink after placing her hat on the counter. Natalie braced her hands against the cool edge of the sink, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down.

There’s no need to act like a child, she told herself, brushing a stray tear out of the corner of her eye. The spider-webbing scar on the left side of her face seemed to burn after so much time in the sun, so she turned to the fridge to pull out some ice, hoping that it would cool her off.

When she turned around, she yelped and nearly dropped the frozen water bottle she’d grabbed—Ramya stood there, wearing her sunhat, which couldn’t sit right on her head due to her ponytail, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Just checkin’ up on you, Miss Paquette,” Ramya said, and procured a thin box from seemingly nowhere. “Want a chew?”

“No,” Natalie said stiffly, and fought back the urge to demand for her hat back. “...Why do you keep calling me that?”

Ramya raised an eyebrow—the slit one—unimpressed. “Is that not your name?”

“Yes, but.” Natalie took a deep breath, trying to gather all of her thoughts into one cohesive narrative, before saying, “You call everyone else by nicknames. Rude nicknames. You’ve even called me Watty—so why the sudden change towards Miss Paquette?”

“It’s cuz it’s easy,” Ramya retorted with a grin. “Sounds a bit like my name, so that way I always remember it.”

Natalie squinted at her, trying to figure out if this was another one of her jokes, before asking, "And why did you keep stealing the ball from me?"

"I didn't steal _anything._ You kept avoidin' it, so I figured you just didn't want to hit it 'nd did you a _favor._ " Ramya crossed her arms, cocking one hip out as she continued, "I can add it to ya tab if you're so ungrateful."

More annoyance flared up insider her and she clenched her fists, trying to find the politest way to tell the girl to _leave her alone_ , when Ramya suddenly sighed, deflating before her very eyes.

“'M sorry if I’m going about this all wrong,” she said, and for the first time Natalie detected an undercurrent of... _something_ in her voice that wasn’t sarcasm.

"And I..." Natalie mumbled, averting her gaze. "Am sorry if I have been rude."

“It's just...I never thought I’d meet my soulmate so early, ya know? Thought I’d be six feet under and meet them in whatever afterlife the universe gives me—never expected ya to be _here_.”

Natalie rubbed at the skin on her inner wrist, trying not to feel guilty for the way she’d been reacting to the other girl, but she couldn’t help it. She was just... _loud_. And _rude_.

But not to everyone else, apparently. They all thought she was _funny_ , and seemed to love her. What was Natalie missing out on? What could the others see that she was unable to? Had she not given her enough of a chance?

“But I get that you don’t care for me,” Ramya sighed, turning her back on her. “It’s whatever. No use cryin' over spilled beer, or however the dumb saying goes.”

Natalie watched her leave, and felt, for the first time, the urge to follow after her and _talk_ to her. But she hesitated, and by the time she made up her mind, the other girl was long gone, probably returning to their game.

Sighing, Natalie went to sit on the couch, but froze when she saw Loba standing outside the bathroom, toweling her hair and looking amused.

“Trouble in paradise?” She cooed, and Natalie’s face flushed. “Understandable, dear. Anita and I had lots of _tension_ to work through before we—”

“Leave the kid alone, Loba,” Anita cut her off, exiting the bathroom as well, before giving Natalie a look much more gentle than the one she was accustomed to receiving in the Ring. “Don’t force yourself into it if you’re not ready, Nat. Parekh’s a good girl, I can tell you that, but I get that she’s not your...”

“Type?” Loba supplied.

“You’re not very compatible is what I’m saying,” Anita finished, giving Loba another look.

“Merci,” Natalie mumbled quietly, holding the cold water bottle up to her burning face as she seated herself on the couch. “I...have a lot to think about.”

The older women went to go sit on the patio, and Natalie watched them through the windows, the sun starting to set over the sea and painting the sky blood orange. It reminded her a lot of Ramya's suit that she wore in game, and she let out yet another sigh, carding her fingers through her hair.

Perhaps...Natalie had judged her too soon.

**Author's Note:**

> [here's everyone's beach outfits btw](https://seerofmike.tumblr.com/post/626656713861431297/still-disappointed-we-havent-gotten-a-beach-event)  
> 
> 
> extended the bubblysparks saga for another day!!!! stay tuned!!!


End file.
